Safety valve



Sept 9 1947 w. I3.l klocvHNl-:R Er AL 2,427,287

SAFETY VALVE Filed Jn. 12,l 194s fig ezveVz/azs Patented Sept. 9,.Y 1947 SAFETY VALVE William B. Kochner, St. Louis, Mo., and Lawrence T. Ward, Philadelphia, Pa., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Knapp-Monarch Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Delaware Application January 12, 1943, Serial No. 472,129

2 Claims. (Cl. 277-44) Our present invention relates to a Safety valve `A assembly, particularly adaptable for rubber life boats, although it is likewise adaptable to other inflatable structures.

One object of the invention is to provide an asy sembly of this character which is designed to permit rapid replacement of the safety valve, when necessary, while the boat is in use.

Another object is to provide the assembly so designed as to minimize projecting parts, thus avoiding damage either to the parts or to the boat Iwhen the boat is folded and not in use, the construction also being such as to avoid any possibility of the occupants clothing being caught on the assembly.

Still a further object is to provide an assembly wherein a safety valve unit is removable for replacement, and is retained in position by a retainer ring which is covered with rubber to prevent damage to the rest of the boat when the boat is folded.

Still another object is to provide a housing for a safety valve with which the safety valve is removably associated, so that the housing alone may be vulcanized to a rubber life boat or the like without the safety valve being subjected to the heat of vulcanization.

Still another object is to provide an assembly of the character here being considered which will permit the vulcanizing of a molded housing to a rubber boat -or the like without any possibility of damage to the safety valve mechanism, due to the fact that vulcanization can be completed before the mechanism is inserted in place with respect to the housing.

With these and other objects in view, our invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of our device whereby the objects contemplated are attained,

our claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a life boat of one type to which ourassembly is adaptable;

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional View thereof on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a further enlarged inside elevation of our safety valve assembly per se and including 9 gauge;

Figure 4 is a still further enlarged sectional View on the line 4-4 of Figure 3 Figure 5 is a sectional view on the line 5 5 of Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a reduced bottom plan view of a portion of Figure 4.

as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in T40 On the accompanying drawing we have used the reference character B to indicate generally a boat of the type usually referred to as a rubber life boat. The boat B has a cylindrical tube lil, forming the outline of the boat, and a web i2 spans opposite portions of the tube lil to form a bottom for the boat. A manifold fitting M is provided, to which a gas tank 48 may be connected by means of a hose 50 leading to a fitting 21. The manifold fitting M has also a fitting 23 with which a hand pump (not shown) may be connected for inating the tube I0 by hand. The manifold M forms no part of our present invention.

Our present invention has to do with an assembly indicated generally at A, which includes a frame I4, a housing I6 therefor, and a pair of units, one being a pressure gauge unit, indicated generally at G, rand the other a relief valve unit, indicated generally at R. The frame I4 is fiat and oblong in shape, with its marginal edge inclined downwardly and outwardly, as indicated at I8, which frame and edge are embedded in the housing i6. The housing IB is formed of rubber or the like, and has a surface 20 adapted to be vulcanized to the tube l0. In actual practice, the tube I0 has a bulkhead 22 for dividing the tube into compartments 24 and 30, and there is an assembly A for each of these compartments, as shown in Figure 2.

The frame plate I4 further has a pair of sleeve-like portions 32 and 34. These terminate in supporting anges 3B and 38, and the housing I6 is designed tocover these flanges, as at 3'1 and 59, to prevent undesirable contact thereof with the interior of the tube It when the boat is folded. f

'The relief valve R comprises a cage 40 supported on the flange 36, with a gasket 42 between the two for sealing purposes. The cage 4i] is held in position by a retainer ring or cup 44 screwed into thesleeve 32. Thus the cage is readilyV removable by unscrewing the retainer ring, whereupon another relief valve can be put in place of one that is leaking, or otherwise inoperative.

Over the cup 44 we provide a flexible cover of rubber or the like, which covers a plurality of openings 46 in the cup 44. A suitableA wrench may be engaged with the openings 46 for unscrewing the cup when the cover 45 is removed. The cover 45 is retained in mounted position by a shank 47 which may be forced through a central opening of the cup 44. The shank 4l has a shoulder and expands after passage through the central opening to retain the cover 45Y in mounted position. rIhe openings 46 permit escape of excess pressure, as When the pressure exceeds four pounds per square inch, due either to pumping too much air into the tube I0, or expansion of the air already therein, caused by the sun shining on the boat. Excessive pressures are thereby relieved, to prevent undesirable over-inflation of the tube i0. The air or gas lifts the peripheral edge of the ileXible cover 45 and escapes to atmosphere. The cover 45 serves to protect the relief valve R from inltration of dust or other foreign matter and also provides a non-metallic cover Vagainst contact between the cup 44 and the rubber of the boat when the boat is folded.

The housing 61.1V carries a guide sleeve 65 for the lower end of the stern 58 and the housing 1B extends beyond the portion 31 and over. the.

housing '64' and the sleeve E5 as shown at 61. The portions 31 and Eilv are shown in Figure 6 apart from the housingA 16. These portions have radial ribs 69'. Perforations 'H are located between the ribs in registry with the perforations of the housing 64. The ribs 69 prevent closure of the perforations 1l when the boat is collapsed and folded.

The gauge G is seated against a gasket 65 on the flange 38, and, like the relief valve R, is retained in position by a retainer ring 68 similar to the ring 44. The ringv 68 has an inturned flange 1D providedA with a pair of notches '12 with which a suitable wrench may be engaged for removing the ring. The gauge unit G is thereafter removable in the same manner as the relief valve unit R. The metal flange '1li is covered with a rubb-er ledge 73, to avoid exposed metal parts. The ledge 13 is formed as part of the housing |76.

Because of the presence of the bulkhead 22,

either unit R, or G of either assembly A may be removed without com-pleteV deflation of the tube I0. By removing and replacing the units quickly, a great deal of air orV gas is not lost,

vent the gauge unit from rotating when screwing and unscrewing the ring 68. The lower wall of the gauge unit, indicated at 18, slopes downwardly and inwardly, and terminates in an opening 90 through which the pressure inside the tube i() enters the gauge unit to act upon the pressurey actuated mechanism thereof.

- By Ydesigning `our assembly so that the relief valve rand the gauge are removable, the housing I6 may be vulcanized to the tube 10 of the life boat B. Accordingly, as soon as the vulcanization process is completed, the units R and G may be inserted in position and the life boat tested. On the other hand, if the units R and G were not removable, then the housing l5v would have to be cemented to the boat, and this would require forty-eight to seventy-two hours curing before a test could be conducted. During such period, considerable fioor space would be required to store the boats, and this would presentl a distinct disadvantage in quantity production. Accordingly, it is obvious that from a production standpoint,

4 removability of the units R and G is very desirable.

In Figure 1 we show topping off valves 8| for the purpose of releasing air manually when desired and with which hand pumps may be connected, in addition to a connection with the f1tting28.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of our safety valve and gauge assembly Without departing from the real spirit and purpose of our invention, and it is our intention to coverby our claims any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope without sacricing any of the advantages thereof.

We claim as our invention:

1. A safety valve assembly for an inflatable structure comprising a frame, a resilient housing in which said frame is embedded, said housing having a face for connection with said structure, said frame having a threadedl sleeve portion terminating in a supporting flange, a relief valve unit removably seated on said flange, a perforated retainer plate screwed into said sleeve portion to retain said relief valve unit seated.` against said ange, and a flexible cover attached to said retainer plate over the perforations, said cover beinfr distortable at its periphery whereby pressure fluid may escape through the perforations.

2. In a safety valve for rubber life boats and the like, a frame, a housing of rubber in which said frame is embedded, said housing having a face for attachment to the life boat, said frame having a threaded sleeve portion terminating in a supporting flange, a relief valve unit seated against said flange, a retainer ring having an apertured face screwedinto saidY sleeve portion to retain said relief valve unitl seated against said flange, and a flexible cover for the apertured face of said retainer ring, said cover beingr secured at one portion to said retainer ring and normally contacting with the ringat another portion, said cover at said other portion. being bendable away from said ring to permit escape of gas through said apertured face.

WILLIAM B. KOCI-INER. LAWRENCE T. WARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,589,470 Hoodl June 22, 1926 1,614,307 Kraft Jan, 11, 1927 1,463,804 Drager Aug. 7, 1923 2,312,679 Speth Mar. 2, 1943 2,188,713 Gora Jan. 30, 1940 74,480 Anderson Feb. 18, 1868 263,063 Schatz Aug. 22, 1882 990,604 Stevens Apr. 25, 1911 1,526,581 Bache Feb. 17, 1925 1,125,263 Borkgren Jan. 19, 1915 2,342,726 Crowley Feb, 29, 1944 2,291,603 Barker Allg. 4, 1942 2,306,012 Campbell Dec. 22, 1942 1,915,661 Gibson June 27, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 395,828 France Jan, 8, 1909 

